Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-07-25
PEOPLES SIGNATURES.
THE COMPARATIVE VALUES GIVEN
THEM BY AUTOGRAPH HUNTERS.

A Price List Where Living Celebrities
May Learn the Market Value of Their
Signatures-Singers, Authors and Other
Folk.
There is one division of the autographic
price list whose perusal might have healthy,
humbling effect on living men, whom much
newspaper mention and the receipt, doubtless,
of many eloquent requests for gratuitous au-
tographs have led to believe that their flow
ing signatures must have considerable pecu-
MARY value, elsewhere than on checks or other
instruments for the payment of money. The
division referred to gives the market value Of
contemporary names, and there the celebrity
may, to some extent, see himself as others see
him, not only per So, but in comparison with
other celebrities, whom he may have been in
clined to regard as not celebrities at ALL
Nonsense aside, many a man must wonder
why his signature should be more or less valu-
able than his neighbor's Here, for instance,
are two men whose offices are within pistol
shot of each other on Wall street, Robert G.
lngersoll and Roscoe Conkling. Both are
famous, to be sure, but both are in active
business and probably sign their names very
many times every day Yet their signatures
have value and the curious part of it is that
the market rate of the latter exceeds that Of
the former by 100 per cent for simple sig
nature. signed letter of Colonel lngersolIs
is worth s125. 1t is evident that these gen.
tlemen, leaving out of consideration the fact
that the market might become overstocked.
could earn even larger incomes than hard
I,
ing their names for few hours every day.
When Mr.. Joseph H. Choate reflects that a
short letter signed by him is worth a good
dollar of any mans money, and begins to cal
culate how many he has written in his life,
he will probably begin to regard himself as a
prodigal If Jennie Junes" signature alone
is worth fifty cents what ought she not to re-
ceive for the bright papers she furnishes so
lavishly for the presss
In fact the signatures of all authors of any
standing, living or dead, command such prices
that when one has written two or three suc.
cessful books he ought seriously to consider
whether be would not be better off, certainly
in purse, perchance in reputation, by confin-
ing all his penwork, thenceforth, to mere
repetitions of his autograph
There is more sense in this suggestion than
might at first appear A short signed note Of
"ouidas," for instance, is worth Sc She
makes it a rule not 10 notice requests for au-
tographs, and that fact is widely advertised
have no doubt that any enterprising auto
graph dealer would cheerfully pay her, for
number of such notes under a contract that
she would honcrably continue, as to all other
people, her present rule, very much larger
Ian ,tI,.
by her pen in as short time and with as
little trouble.
The prices of signed letters are not fair
tests of the value of the writer's name Ac-
cidental circumstances, such as length, state
of preservation, and, above all, the subjects
| concerning which they were written have too
| much to do with determining their market
price.
Among the songStresseS Emma Ahbott's sig
nature is worth - cents, five times as much
| as that of the governor of neighborine
stnte, whose name sounds like hers, and has
as many letters in it, She has reason to pride
| herself on being of more value in this re-
spcct, at least, than any other prima donna
listed, except SontaG. 10 cents, Patti. 20
cents, and Marie Roe. 50 cents. Anna
| Louise Carey, Nine Anna Bishop. Miss Ee
| loGg, Adelaide Phillips and Emma C. Thuisby
are all far below her mark
According to this test people famous in
other more or less public walks of life NAV be
| cIassed As follows: Among stage folk. tirst,
| Charlotte CuShman and Sarah Bernharflt: :
| second, 5alvmi: third e. A. Sothern; fourth,
| Mary Anderson, Lotta, J. W Wallsck,
Lester Wollach and Henry Irving. fifth,
I AJTps, .I,,l-
| Booth and Einesto Rossi; sixth, H. J. Mon
tague and Joseph jefferson: seventh. Dion
| Boucicault, Airs. D. P Bowers. Kate Clax-
| ton, W j Florence, J. h Hackett. Mrs.
| Scott Siddons and Charles Wyndham.
| Authors range as follows: First class. J.
| Fenimore Cooper and w NJ Thackernv
second, Dickens; third, Emerson, Washing
| ton Irving, LonCtelow and Walt Whitman
fourth, Bryant; fifth, Oliver Wendell Holmes:
sixth, Fitz Greene Halleck and Bayard Tav.
| lor; seventh, Mark Twain, D. W. Howells.
Helen Hunt Jackson James K. Paulding.
| Horriet Beecher Stowe. n p Willis and Pro.
fessor Wilson; eighth. James r Fields, Emily
| Faithful, Paul II. Hayue, Mary Russell Nit
ford; ninth, 7, &. Aldrich, Lydia Nj. Child,
the author of kathleen Mavourneen: John
Hay, the author of "Curfew Shall Not Ring
Tonight" and Richard Grant White ninth,
A. Bronson Alcott, H. c. Bunner, George W.
Cable, Edward Eggleston, Grace Greenwood,
Edward Everett Hale, Thomas Wentworth
Higginson, Sidney Lanier, Donald G. Mitch,
ELL, Miss Parloa, James r. Randall, Mrs.
Partington," Mrs. E. D. E. N Southw orth,
]. 7. Trowbridge, Martin F. Tupper and Mis-
Evans; tenth, John Bigelow.-New York
| Commercial Advertiser